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Jimmie Johnson completed the Daytona sweep becoming the first driver, since Bobbie Allison in 1982, to take the Daytona 500 and the summer classic formerly known as the Firecracker 400 in the same year.

The only three other drivers to have accomplished the sweep were Fireball Roberts (1962), Cale Yarborough (1968) and Lee Roy Yarbrough (1969).

“To do anything Bobby has done is pretty special,” Johnson said in Victory Lane after his fourth win this year tying him with Matt Kenseth for most wins.

The five-time Sprint Cup series champion Johnson put on a commanding performance leading 94 of the 160 laps. He also mastered the late-race restarts and pulled away in the green-white-checkered finish to win his first Coke Zero 400 by a margin of .107 seconds in a Chevrolet.

“It's tough to (dominate) at a plate track, especially with how tight the rules are,” Johnson said. “I think I showed strength early and a lot of guys were willing to work with me and kind of help me through situations, which was great. I don't know if I really made a bad move tonight, so I'm pretty proud of that.”

Jimmie Johnson celebrating (Photo: NASCAR)

And the winner thwarted one of the best challenges, with seven laps to go, when Australia's Marcos Ambrose thought that he had a shot at the win on that restart.

Johnson and Kasey Kahne blasted off from the front row. Ambrose went high to stay with Johnson and saw - what he thought - was an opening between the two Hendrick Motorsports teammates. When Johnson went to his left to attempt to block the pass Ambrose's Ford appeared to bounce off it and went hard left in Kahne sending him into the wall. Ambrose was able to continue, but, he had cut down a tire.

“As we came off of Turn two, the 9 (Ambrose) went shooting down below me and I don't know where the 5 (Kahne) was or what happened,” Johnson said.

“The 9 made a strong move to get inside of me and all I saw was the 9 inside of me, so I assume he at some point or someone got into the 5 and sent him for a ride.”

Johnson denied any contact. “I didn't feel anything there.”

“Jimmie got a little loose or he just didn't see my move coming, and I split him coming off of (turn) two," Ambrose said. "He came down to check the spot and I was already there and he just bounced us straight into (Kahne)."

There were two other big crashes including one that caused a red flag stoppage with 11 laps to go. Denny Hamlin's Toyota went out of control causing AJ Allmendinger to crash avoiding other cars avoiding Hamlin's. Neither driver was seriously injured.

The biggest crash of the night was for the green-white-checkered finish. While Johnson was fending off eventual second place, Tony Stewart and third place, Kevin Harvick, chaos was breaking out behind them.

Danica Patrick who was following Dale Earnhardt Jr. was involved. “It felt like I ran just along the wall but it looked like it could have been me that came down in front of the 38 (Dave Gilliland),” she said. “It definitely wasn't what I was trying to do at all. I was just following the 88 (Earnhardt Jr.).

“So, if that's what happened, then I definitely apologize. I lost (finishing) spots doing it.”

From GMM

Although Lotus was initially opposed to the move to kevlar-belted tires, Romain Grosjean in Germany said the change was actually "not terrible" for the team.

Before the tire-exploding crisis at Silverstone, Lotus was one of a prominent few teams who refused to allow Pirelli to make the mid-season tire construction change.

But with the new tires forced through after the British grand prix, Lotus actually showed good pace at the Nurburgring, with Kimi Raikkonen and Frenchman Grosjean qualifying fourth and fifth, and finishing the race second and third.

"We were a little afraid of the tires on paper," Grosjean told RMC, "but it (the construction change) was not necessarily terrible for us.

"It turns out that it's going pretty well."

Photo: WRi2

Lotus engineer Alan Permane agrees: "The new rear construction doesn't appear to be hurting our performance."

But Force India, another team initially resistant to the new tires, has struggled in Germany.

"It's difficult to determine if the change in tire construction has hampered our performance," said deputy team boss Bob Fernley, "but for whatever reason we've not found the sweet spot this weekend."

The third team originally opposing the kevlar switch was Ferrari, who have had a solid weekend.

But Fernando Alonso said: "This race at the Nurburgring is not very meaningful, because we are only using these tires once.

"It's only in Hungary that we'll know where we are heading," he is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

Between the two of them, Audette brothers Rémy and Mathieu won both rounds of the Canadian Touring Car Championship (CTCC), presented this weekend on the former airfield of Mirabel, Québec.

Former American F2000 champion Rémy, driving his Honda Civic Si, was the dominant force of the weekend, but had to give up the first race when his fuel tank emptied five laps from the checkered flag. Luckily, the win didn't go to waste as brother Mathieu was lying second at the time.

He brought his Acura RSX home some two seconds ahead of second-place finisher Scott Nicol (Honda Civic Si).

Family reunion (Photo: Michel Flageole/Flagworld Communications)

Sunday, Rémy led convincing a 1-2 of Audette Brothers, which meant that Sergio Pasian (BMW 330), who finished third, was the only non-Audette on the podium.

Damon Sharpe (Honda Civic Si) and Michel Sallenbach (MINI Cooper) took turns at the top of the podium in the Touring class over the event.

Bad weekend for Lombardi Honda Racing. Their drivers Jérimy Daniel and Benjamin Distaulo totalled four DNFs.

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone on Sunday performed a swift u-turn, having said earlier he is "thinking about" buying the financially embattled Nurburgring. Meanwhile, three other candidates emerged.

"If I do that (buy the circuit)," the F1 chief executive had told Die Welt newspaper, "it would mean the German grand prix is secure in the future".

According to quotes that will appear in the Rhein-Zeitung newspaper on Monday, however, 82-year-old Briton Ecclestone has had a rapid change of heart.

"I thought about it and it (buying the Nurburgring) is not practical for me," he said.

Ecclestone's latest comments follow reports Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz, Nurburgring chief Jorg Lindner and the German automobile club ADAC are also interested in bidding for the fabled circuit.

Ecclestone said he hopes someone buys the Nurburgring "as we enjoy being here".

"We are always happy to come here," he added, "especially as we've been coming here for so long."

Straight from a grueling Saturday night race in Daytona, four-time Sprint Cup Champion, Jeff Gordon, was visiting the starting grid at Pocono Raceway with his soon to be 3 year-old son Leo.

They came to see IndyCars, which had been missing, on the track known as “tricky triangle,” for 24 years.

I'm so excited to be here for Leo," Gordon said. "He's the one who saw the cars on the TV and said to my wife, (the Belgian-born) Ingrid, `Race car! Race car!”

Jeff Gordon, his son Leo (centre) and somebody else (Photo: Jeff Gordon)

"So we were in New York (where the Gordon's have a second home) and said, “Heck, let's go!” To be back here in Pocono with the Indy cars, how could we miss that? It's so cool. I'm being here as a race fan and enjoying it.”

Gordon has won six of his 87 career Sprint Cup victories at the three-mile oval. The four-time NASCAR champion came up from racing sprint cars and briefly considered, but never raced, in Indy cars.

Adapted from GMM

Sauber could have an all-new driver lineup next year, as rumours of a radical shakeup for the struggling Swiss team gain speed.

Nico Hulkenberg, reportedly not paid by the Hinwil based team since May, has already confirmed at the Nurburgring that boss Monisha Kaltenborn is working to pull Sauber out of a financial crisis.

Now the German and his manager Werner Heinz have reportedly terminated the deal for breach of contract, meaning Hulkenberg could be free to leave Sauber at any time.

Rumours at the Nurburgring suggested Heinz has already been in talks with Lotus, while Hulkenberg has also been linked with a future move to Ferrari.

Meanwhile Speed Week correspondent Rob La Salle speculated that Sauber's 2014 lineup could see Russian Vitaly Petrov return to F1, alongside the Nicolas Todt-managed Felipe Massa or Jules Bianchi.

Todt - also a GP2 team chief and the son of FIA president Jean Todt - has been linked with a buyout, as has Chelsea football club's Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

The Bild joined Speed Week in reporting that one of Russia's wealthiest men, Boris Rotenberg, is also linked with the Sauber rescue.

Rotenberg, who co-owns the SMP bank with his brother, reportedly has close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

It is believed Carlos Slim's Telmex has ruled out buying Sauber, which - given the Mexican company's expected move to McLaren - could be bad news for 2013 team driver Esteban Gutierrez.

Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber C32 (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Niki Lauda says the F1 fraternity this week gave a thumbs-up to a movie about the sport's legendary 1976 season.

During qualifying at the Nurburgring on Saturday, the triple world champion was spotted in the Mercedes garage with Ron Howard.

'Happy Days' actor and American Howard, director of Apollo 13, was behind 'Rush' -- a movie about Austrian legend Lauda, his fiery 1976 Nurburgring crash and his rivalry with James Hunt.

The film will not be released until September, but some of the sport's leading figures - including Bernie Ecclestone and Lewis Hamilton - were given a special screening at the Nurburgring, Lauda told Austria's Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

"The pictures are really immense," said the 64-year-old Austrian, now co-owner and chairman of the Mercedes team.

"And the director Ron Howard was really happy because he could see how excited these formula one experts were about his film," added Lauda.

A British newspaper said Red Bull's Christian Horner and Adrian Newey also attended the screening.

Two-time NASCAR Canadian Tire series' champion, Andrew Ranger Sunday won the Jiffy Lube 100 presented by Snap-On at Circuit ICAR in Mirabel.

It was the series' first of three Quebec appearances this season, and a third visit to the road course set-up on the grounds of the Mirabel airport, located north of Montreal.

Andrew Ranger, the winner of last year's race at ICAR, captured pole position Saturday.  Ranger planted his No. 27 La Cite de Mirabel Dodge on pole position in front of Jeff Lapcevich, Scott Steckly, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin and rookie Alex Labbe.

At the drop of the green flag, Ranger jumped into the lead while Steckly powered into second place ahead of Lapcevich.  On lap 2, a full course caution bunched up the field again.

The race restarted on lap 7. Ranger again took command. JR Fitzpatrick, driving the No. 84 car, powered from sixth to third place behind Ranger and Steckly.

Jeff Lapcevich maintained fourth place in front of Dumoulin, Labbé and D.J. Kennington.

Ranger and Steckly ran together until lap 20 of the 30-lap race. In just three laps, Ranger managed to build a 4.3-second cushion over Steckly. Meanwhile, L.-P. Dumoulin passed Lapcevich and then Fitzpatrick to take third spot.

On lap 24, a full course yellow was displayed for Jason Hathaway, whose car suffered serious mechanical problems.

The race restarted on lap 26. Ranger pulled away from Steckly. Then, Dumoulin started to apply pressure on the driver of the No. 22 Canadian Tire car. On the penultimate lap, the pair ran side-by-side for a few corners but Steckly managed to stay ahead.

After 30 laps, Ranger crossed the line in first place, winning the race from Steckly, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin in the No. 47 WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge, Fitzpatrick, Lapcevich, Kennington, Kerry Micks, Jean-Francois Dumoulin, Martin Roy and Alex Guenette.

Rookie Alex Labbe, who was sixth at the beginning of the last lap, crossed the line in 11th position.

Neither of their two rivals could stop Muscle Milk Pickett Racing's Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf from scoring their third consecutive victory of the season, at this weekend's Lime Rock Northeast Grand Prix.

Chris Dyson and Guy Smith put on a decent fight during the first hour of the race, at the wheel of their Dyson Racing Lola-Mazda, but their hopes of victory eventually faded as the duel turned into a one-horse race.

Luhr and Graf eventually brought their HPD ARX-03c home some six laps ahead of Smith and Dyson.

Third place of the P1 category went to Andy Meyrick and Katherine Legge, despite their DeltaWing abruptly losing water pressure, and retiring, on lap 102.

BMW won the GT race from Corvette, as pole-sitters John Edwards and Dirk Muller led Antonio Garcia and Kevin Magnussen by a mere nine tenths at the finish line. The win extended Muller's lead in the drivers' championship.

Ryan Briscoe and Scott Tucker finished first in P2, but race officials only rewarded them with third-place points for the way Briscoe overtook Guy Cosmo (Extreme Speed Motorsports) near the end of the race.

Second place Cosmo and co-driver Scott Sharp got the maximum 20 points for their performance.

Bruno Junqueira (RSR Racing) won in PC, whereas Spencer Pumpelly backed his GTC pole from Friday with the class win.


Race results - ALMS Northeast Grand Prix (Lime Rock)
1 - Graf/Luhr (HPD ARX-03c) - Pickett - 184 laps
2 - Dyson/Smith (Lola B12/60 Mazda) - Dyson - 178
3 - Tucker/Briscoe (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 178
4 - Sharp/Cosmo (HPD ARX-03b) - ExtremeSpeed - 178
5 - Junqueira/Ende (Oreca FLM09) - Rocketsports - 177
6 - Bennett/Braun (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 177
7 - Tucker/Briscoe (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 176
8 - Nunez/Booth (Oreca FLM09) - Preformance Tech - 176
9 - Brown/Van Overbeek (HPD ARX-03b) - ExtremeSpeed - 176
10 - Marcelli/Cumming (Oreca FLM09) - BAR1 - 175
11 - Van der Zande/Schultis (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 174
12 - Guasch/Cheng (Oreca FLM09) - PR1 - 172
13 - Mueller/Edwards (BMW Z4) - Rahal - 172
14 - Magnussen/Garcia (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 172
15 - Kimber-Smith/Long (Porsche 997) - CORE - 172
16 - Auberlen/Martin (BMW Z4) - Rahal - 171
17 - Bomarito/Wittmer (SRT Viper) - SRT - 171
18 - Gavin/Milner (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 171
19 - Drissi/Mitchell (Oreca FLM09) - BAR1 - 170
20 - Miller/Holzer (Porsche 997) - Miller - 169
21 - Henzler/Sellers (Porsche 997) - Falken - 169
22 - Sweedler/Bell (Ferrari GTS3 458) - Alex Job - 168
23 - Beretta/Malucelli (Ferrari GTS3 458) - Risi - 167
24 - Canache/Pumpelly (Porsche 997 Cup) - FlyingLizard - 164
25 - Hedlund/Heylen (Porsche 997 Cup) - JDX - 162
26 - Keating/Faulkner (Porsche 997 Cup) - TRG - 161
27 - Stanton/Ostella (Porsche 997 Cup) - TRG - 161
28 - MacNeil/Bleekemolen (Porsche 997 Cup) - Alex Job - 159
29 - Neiman/Von Moltke (Porsche 997 Cup) - FlyingLizard - 159
30 - Dempsey/Lally (Porsche 997 Cup) - Demsey/DelPiero - 158
31 - Cisneros/Armindo (Porsche 997 Cup) - NGT - 145
32 - Legge/Meyrick (DeltaWing) - Panoz - 102
33 - Goossens/Farnbacher (SRT Viper) - SRT - 25

Thomas McGregor Sunday scored a dominant victory at ICAR Circuit located north of Montreal in the second race of the weekend of the Formula Tour 1600 series.

McGregor led the pack under a blazing sun, but the Safety Car took to the track following an early race incident. Car No. 13 of Jean Lajoie broke a suspension and the car hit the guardrail.

The race restarted on lap 7 with McGregor leading Tristan DeGrand, Jack Mitchell Jr, Jessy Lazare and Michel Bonnet.

One lap later Lazare moved around Mitchell to take third place. Then, Lazare started to put pressure on DeGrand. He pushed him as hard as he could but never managed to be close enough to attempt a move.

The chequered was wave on lap 12, saluting McGregor's win.

DeGrand finished second ahead of Lazare.

Mitchell arrived home in fourth place in front of Michel Bonnet.

Former Formula 1600 series' champion, Didier Schraenen, finished the race in 8th place.

Intense pressure from Lotus' Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean wasn't going to stop Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) from finally winning his home Grand Prix.

The German, born 200 kilometres from where the race was hosted this year, at the Nürburgring, had a cracking start from second, which allowed him to swiftly dispose of pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).

Vettel then enjoyed a clean run, until Räikkönen and Grosjean caught up that is, because his teammate Mark Webber, who had moved from third to second at the start, dropped down the order already at the first pit stops.

He was released from his box before the right rear wheel was properly attached.

The bouncing wheel rolled away and sent a cameraman to hospital with some broken bones, but seemed to avoid everyone else.

A clever strategy gave Lotus the edge in speed, but Vettel appeared simply too strong for either Raikkonen or Grosjean, who took turn fighting the world champion, to make a win out of it.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso salvaged fourth, having started eight on the grid. The Spaniard finished one place ahead of the ailing Hamilton, who still faired better than his poor teammate Nico Rosberg.

The recent British Grand Prix winner went up from a distant 11th on the grid to a lowly ninth.

Jules Bianchi (Marussia) beat Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Jean-Éric Vergne (Toro Rosso) to the most spectacular retirement. The Frenchman went out in a cloud of smoke whereas Massa only spun out, and Vergne merely suffered a hydraulic failure.

Race results* - German Grand Prix (Nürburgring)
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 60 laps 1:41'14"711
2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1"008
3 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 5"830
4 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 7”721
5 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 26"927
6 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 27"996
7 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 37"562
8 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 38"306
9 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 46"821
10 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 49"898
11 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 53"771
12 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 56"975
13 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 57"738
14 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'0"160
15 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'01"929
16 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1 lap
17 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1 lap
18 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1 lap
19 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1 lap

Fastest lap of the race: 1'33”468 by Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)

Retirements
lap 22 - Jean-Eric Vergne
Lap 21 - Jules Bianchi
Lap 3 - Felipe Massa

Drivers' championship
1. Vettel 157; 2. Alonso 123; 3. Raikkonen 116; 4.Hamilton 99; 5. Webber 93; 6. Rosberg 84; 7. Massa 57; 8. Grosjean 41; 9. Di Resta 36; 10. Button 33; 11. Sutil 23; 12. Perez 16; 13. Vergne 13; 14. Ricciardo 11; 15.Hulkenberg 7

*Unofficial results

Pope Francis said on Saturday it pained him to see priests driving flashy cars, and told them to pick something more "humble."

In the racing video game landscape, there are hoards of titles available for those looking to quench their thirst for exhaust notes and burnt rubber. and#8220;

Ford's expanded hybrid and plug-in model lineup and demand for Tesla's luxury battery sedans helped electric-drive cars and trucks grow faster in the United States in the first half than even surging pickup trucks.

Mitsubishi expects its Russian sales to keep growing despite the market's overall decline after adding output of the Pajero Sport mid-sized SUV to its plant in Kaluga.

A total of 25,546 Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge vehicles are being recalled by Chrysler Canada because the airbag warning lamp may illuminate due to an electrical fault within the Occupant Restraint Control (ORC) module.

As a result, the active head restraints may not deploy during a rear impact collision (where deployment is warranted), which could increase the risk of personal injury to the front seat occupants.

Dealers will reprogram the Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM) or replace the ORC module, as required.

Affected models include:

• 2011-2013 Chrysler 200;
• 2011-2013 Chrysler Sebring;
• 2011-2013 Dodge Avenger;
• 2011-2012 Dodge Nitro;
• 2011-2012 Jeep Liberty

Source: Transport Canada

Photo: Michel Deslauriers

From GMM

Having confirmed its financial problems, the rumours about the future of the Swiss team Sauber are now doing the rounds in the Nurburgring paddock.

Amid reports he has not been paid recently, German driver Nico Hulkenberg insists team boss Monisha Kaltenborn is "working on a solution".

"She's assured me that she's busy working on that and there's not much more I can say," he said on Thursday.

Indeed, Kaltenborn was missing in the Nurburgring paddock on Friday, with Speed Week reporting that she hosted a delegation at Hinwil of the Swiss federal government.

Sports minister Ueli Maurer said: "Sauber is the most important high-tech company in Switzerland."

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber C32 (Photo: Sauber F1 Team)

But Speed Week said the Swiss government is not going to bail-out the struggling Sauber.

Cue the next rumour -- Nicolas Todt.

Speed Week said the relationship between team founder Peter Sauber and Todt's father, the FIA president Jean Todt, is longstanding and strong.

Frenchman Nicolas Todt, who manages the careers of Felipe Massa, Pastor Maldonado and Jules Bianchi and operates the GP2 team ART, is often linked with F1 team buyouts.

Sauber is reportedly in talks with the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom about a sponsorship deal, and Speed Week said it is "unclear" if the Todt rumour is related.

The well-connected Swiss newspaper Blick, meanwhile, is reporting another potential Russian link for Sauber -- the apparent interest of the team's football club sponsor Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

Correspondent Roger Benoit said at least some income is guaranteed to flow Sauber's way, having inked a deal for the upcoming Silverstone test with Japanese driver Kimiya Sato.

Benoit said the sponsors of 23-year-old Sato, who is not related to former F1 driver Takuma Sato, are paying EUR 250,000 for his single-day run in the C32 car.

Adapted from GMM

Bernie Ecclestone admitted in the paddock of the German Grand Prix that he still doesn't know what is happening with the Spanish Grand Prix. He also revealed that he might buy the Nurburgring, and that F1 could visit the US as much as three times per year in the future.

Reportedly, a verbal agreement between the regional presidents should see Valencia and Barcelona annually alternate a single Spanish F1 race from now on.

The port city of Valencia, absent from the 2013 schedule, was set to kick off the arrangement in 2014, but the Circuit de Catalunya has already put tickets on sale for a Spanish grand prix next year.

"If they are doing that," Valencia vice president Jose Ciscar said, "you will have to ask Catalunya as to why."

Asked on Friday at the Nurburgring to clarify the identity of next year's Spanish grand prix host, F1 chief executive Ecclestone answered: "I don't know yet.

"We have to wait," he is quoted by the Spanish sports daily AS.

It is also likely the F1 community will have to wait to see what happens with the German Grand Prix.

The fabled Nurburgring circuit.

Weighed under by financial problems and now for sale, this weekend's round at the famous track in the Eifel only survived on the 2013 calendar because the F1 chief executive heavily reduced his sanctioning fee.

Asked by Die Welt newspaper about the Nurburgring's future beyond the German grand prix on Sunday, Ecclestone answered: "It's quite possible that I'll buy it (the circuit).

"At least I'm thinking about it.

"If I do that, it would mean the German grand prix is secure in the future, taking into account of course the existing contracts with Hockenheim."

The 82-year-old Briton said he will make his final decision "in a few months".

"At any rate," Ecclestone insisted, "the German grand prix next year will be at Hockenheim.  There are binding contracts and I will keep to them."

The F1 supremo also said he is hoping "two new races" in America will complement the now annual Austin race, "namely in Long Beach and New York (New Jersey)".

And Ecclestone said F1 is also planning races in Thailand, as well as Baku -- the capital of Azerbaijan.

Austin's COTA (Photo: WRi2)

The whole American Le Mans Series (ALMS) field battled torrid heat during qualifying ahead of the Northeast Grand Prix, at Lime Rock Park, but it was German Lucas Luhr who came out on top.

The 2012 champion and his teammate Klaus Graf amassed two wins this season, but have yet to start on pole.

Photo: ALMS.com

In the absence of his title rivals from Rebellion Racing, Luhr comfortably posted the fastest lap of the session, aboard his HPD ARX-03c. Dyson Racing's Chris Dyson and Guy Smith completed the front row.

The third and only other car registered  in P1, the No. 0 DeltaWing driven by Andy Meyrick and Katherine Legge, posted the 12th fastest lap overall.

BMW Team RLL, led by John Edwards, swept the front row in GT, leaving Corvette Racing's Oliver Gavin with nothing but third place to start from.

Photo: ALMS.com

Ryan Briscoe was the fastest man in P2, at the wheel of Level 5's first HPD ARX-03b, while Colin Braun (CORE autosport) and Spencer Pumpelly (Flying Lizards) led in PC and GTC respectively.


Qualifying results - ALMS Northeast Grand Prix (Lime Rock)
1.Graf/Luhr (HPD ARX-03c) - Pickett - 44"396
2.Dyson/Smith (Lola B12/60 Mazda) - Dyson - 45"243
3.Tucker/Briscoe (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 46"191
4.Tucker/Franchitti (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 46"428
5.Brown/Van Overbeek (HPD ARX-03b) - ExtremeSpeed - 46"729
6.Sharp/Cosmo (HPD ARX-03b) - ExtremeSpeed - 46"870
7.Bennett/Braun (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 48"078
8.Junqueira/Ende (Oreca FLM09) - Rocketsports - 48"1889
9.Marcelli/Cumming (Oreca FLM09) - BAR1 - 48"403
10.Schultis-Van der Zande (Oreca FLM09 Chevy) - DragonSpeed - 48"422
11.Nunez/Booth (Oreca FLM09) - Preformance Tech - 48"564
12.Meyrick-Legge (DeltaWing LM12-Elan) - DeltaWing - 48"931
13.Guasch/Cheng (Oreca FLM09) - PR1 - 49"222
14.Drissi/Mitchell (Oreca FLM09) - BAR1 - 50"044
15.Mueller/Edwards (BMW Z4) - Rahal - 50"996
16.Auberlen/Martin (BMW Z4) - Rahal - 51"157
17.Gavin/Milner (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 51"490
18.Beretta/Malucelli (Ferrari 458) - Risi - 51"499
19.Magnussen/Garcia (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 51"537
20.Long/Kimber-Smith (Porsche 997) - 51"732
21.Sweedler/Bell (Ferrari 458) - Alex Job - 51"812
22.Goossens/Farnbacher (SRT Viper) - SRT - 51"916
23.Bomarito/Wittmer (SRT Viper) - SRT - 52"185
24.Henzler/Sellers (Porsche 997) - Falken - 52"199
25.Miller/Holzer (Porsche 997) - Miller - 52"254
(..)

From GMM

Susie Wolff will drive Williams' 2013 car during the young driver test at Silverstone later this month.

The news is being reported by Germany's Bild newspaper and the specialist Auto Motor und Sport, while her husband and Williams co-owner Toto Wolff confirmed: "She is tremendously glad about it."

Scotland-born Wolff, 30, is already the famous British team's test driver, but her participation at Silverstone - her first proper circuit test in a F1 car - was not assured until now.

The German publications said her test in the Renault-powered FW35 will be the first official F1 action for a female driver since Giovanna Amati in 1992.

Susie Wolff (Photo: Williams F1 Team)

Auto Motor und Sport said Wolff, a former DTM driver who until now has been limited to simulator and aerodynamic test runs, will drive on the first of the three-day test.

Meanwhile, Italiaracing reports that the FIA has backtracked on an earlier stipulation that race drivers will be limited to only tyre testing at the Silverstone test.

Earlier, it was thought only the inexperienced 'young drivers' will be allowed to focus on real car development.

The clarification follows Fernando Alonso's claim that he is not interested in simply testing tyres at Silverstone, because he is "not a Pirelli test driver".

An unimpressed Pirelli chief Paul Hembery hit back: "I'm sorry for him, but Vettel and the other drivers will be there," he is quoted by Italy's Tuttosport.